Suspected Yoruba nation agitators who invaded the Oyo State secretariat on Saturday, dressed in military camouflage, while being paraded by the Oyo State Police Command on Monday name their sponsors.
Ismaila Malomo, one of the agitators, disclosed that Modupe Abiola Onitiri was one of their sponsors, along with others residing in the diaspora.
“I received a message from my friend here that one of our sponsors, named Modupe Abiola Onitiri, gave us the order to go and take over the Oyo State government Secretariat,” Malomo told journalists while being paraded alongside 20 others.
Malomo further revealed that their sponsors, including Modupe Abiola Onitiri and one named Micky, reside outside the country and have been holding virtual meetings with them. He claimed they were told in the last meeting that they had secured sovereignty from the United Nations to declare the Yoruba Nation.
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Mr. Alabi Ogundeji, another suspected agitator and a teacher at the Federal Government College, Oyo, defended their actions, stating that their leaders had taken necessary steps, including issuing petitions and conducting a referendum, before the invasion.
“Our action at the Oyo State government secretariat is legal. We were only there to express happiness and joy over the proclamation of Yoruba Nation; we were not there to kill anybody,” Ogundeji asserted.
The suspects, including Adeyemo Joseph Oluwaseun, Adeyemo Peter, Amos Oluwatuyi Ogundeji, and others, were paraded by the state Police Commissioner, Adebola Hamzat. Hamzat described their actions as criminal, unpatriotic, and a clear case of treasonable felony and terrorism.
“While declaring this act as criminal, unpatriotic and a clear case of treasonable felony and terrorism to be meted with adequate sanctions through purposeful prosecutions, the Command re-assures the good people of Oyo State that it remains solidly unwavering in the protection of lives and property as constitutionally required by the laws of the land,” Mr. Hamzat stated.
The Police Commissioner emphasized the need for parents, guardians, and leaders to discourage youths from being used to promote anarchy, assuring that the security architecture of the command had been reviewed to tackle present-day realities in the state.